Posted by Kim on August 18, 2015, 8:02am
A major change is coming to the site this week! On August 24th the RP Finder tools are being combined with the Looking for RP forums.This means that "Finder concepts" will no longer be a separate thing from posts made to the Looking For RP forums. The forums will be a one stop place to look at all of the potential games you could play in.
By the same token, the Looking For RP forums are inheriting all the super cool features that used to be RP Finder only. Topics in the Looking For RP Forums will now be able to be tagged with specific genre combinations, play styles, writing styles, and all the rest that you have gotten used to from the Finder.
You can still use the RP Finder tools to search for exactly the type of RP that you want, and you can even still use it to look at only topics from players who were recently active (and thus have a better chance of finding RP for right this very minute.
This combination solves many of the basic issues with the RP Finder that you've been craving fixes for:
- You'll be able to edit your concepts after posting them, using the existing forum tools.
- You'll be able to refer to old concepts and re-open them to find more players, again, using the existing forum tools.
- You'll be able to look at RP concepts from as far back as you want, or narrow your search to more recent activity just like before.
- You'll be able to include a note about why you think a particular character is suited to the game when you announce your interest, using the existing forum set up.
- Greater visibility to the moderators will mean it's easier to catch and remove "character spam," wherein people suggest characters to games for which they are obviously wildly inappropriate.
And of course, recently active RP groups will also be returned as part of your RP Finder searches, making the RP Finder truly a one-stop location to find RP wherever it's happening.
Plus, we're adding more information to the genre sliders to make it easier to decide where your setting lies on the spectrums!
Want to know more? Click here to read the update FAQ
When will this change go live?
August 24th, 2015. Some time in the morning.
What will happen to the old RP Finder concepts?
They're being retired. However, we don't want you to lose your work, so if you've previously posted a RP Finder concept you'll receive a PM with all of the information about it so you can easily repost it on the Looking For RP forum when the time comes.
What will happen to the old Looking for RP Forum Topics?
They'll remain as they are. However, if you'd like to add additional setting and playstyle data to your existing topics, you will be able to edit the first post in your topic to add genre and playstyle information. The more information you add, the more likely the topic is to appear in people's RP Finder searches, and the easier it will be for qualified and interested players to find you.
Won't using forum topics as the basis for the finder result in a lot of dead topics being returned?
You can prevent your topic from appearing in RP Finder results by adding (closed) to the topic title. This will discourage replies when you're no longer looking, and save hopeful RPers a lot of time wasted on replying to dead topics.
The RP Finder will also consider the time the OP was last active in the topic, or if they allow it, the time they were last active on the site.
What about the Looking For RP (Adults Only) Forums?
Both the All Ages and the Adults Only Looking For RP Forums will be absorbing the super powers of the RP Finder. Checking the box for the Adults Only forums in your settings will allow concepts posted to the Adults Only forum to be returned in your RP Finder search results.
What if I liked the Looking For RP Forums the way they were?
You can still visit the forums and read them in their existing format, and you are not required to include any of the extra genre or playstyle information with your posts if you don't want to. It will just make it more likely that the players you want will be able to find your topic.
What if I liked the RP Finder the way it was?
Remarkably little about it is changing. The concepts will simply be stored on the forums, instead of in their own database. If you don't like looking through the forums, you can still see RP search results in the same format you know and love.
The biggest difference you'll run into is that you'll need to title your game concepts, and you'll have more room to describe your game.
Will I still be able to suggest a character by clicking "I'm interested"?
One of the most common complaints about the RP Finder by game hosts was that they were often confused about why a character was suggested to their game, and they wished that a short explanation was required before a suggestion could be sent.
To address this, the "I'm interested" button will now bring you to the forum topic, where you'll need to either post a reply, or send the topic starter a private message.
Will we still get that cool alert when someone's interested or will it just show up on our feed?
This hasn't been 100% determined yet. I'm still toying with the best way to implement this. It gets potentially less accurate with the forums, since a conversation with the same person might trigger the "new player is interested" alert over and over again.
What about the "Random game concept" button?
The fate of the random game button is still being decided. It has historically not seen much use, except as a learning tool for people to see how the genre sliders might be used.
What do you think should be done with it?
Answers to your Questions
When will this change go live?
August 24th, 2015. Some time in the morning.
What will happen to the old RP Finder concepts?
They're being retired. However, we don't want you to lose your work, so if you've previously posted a RP Finder concept you'll receive a PM with all of the information about it so you can easily repost it on the Looking For RP forum when the time comes.
What will happen to the old Looking for RP Forum Topics?
They'll remain as they are. However, if you'd like to add additional setting and playstyle data to your existing topics, you will be able to edit the first post in your topic to add genre and playstyle information. The more information you add, the more likely the topic is to appear in people's RP Finder searches, and the easier it will be for qualified and interested players to find you.
Won't using forum topics as the basis for the finder result in a lot of dead topics being returned?
You can prevent your topic from appearing in RP Finder results by adding (closed) to the topic title. This will discourage replies when you're no longer looking, and save hopeful RPers a lot of time wasted on replying to dead topics.
The RP Finder will also consider the time the OP was last active in the topic, or if they allow it, the time they were last active on the site.
What about the Looking For RP (Adults Only) Forums?
Both the All Ages and the Adults Only Looking For RP Forums will be absorbing the super powers of the RP Finder. Checking the box for the Adults Only forums in your settings will allow concepts posted to the Adults Only forum to be returned in your RP Finder search results.
What if I liked the Looking For RP Forums the way they were?
You can still visit the forums and read them in their existing format, and you are not required to include any of the extra genre or playstyle information with your posts if you don't want to. It will just make it more likely that the players you want will be able to find your topic.
What if I liked the RP Finder the way it was?
Remarkably little about it is changing. The concepts will simply be stored on the forums, instead of in their own database. If you don't like looking through the forums, you can still see RP search results in the same format you know and love.
The biggest difference you'll run into is that you'll need to title your game concepts, and you'll have more room to describe your game.
Will I still be able to suggest a character by clicking "I'm interested"?
One of the most common complaints about the RP Finder by game hosts was that they were often confused about why a character was suggested to their game, and they wished that a short explanation was required before a suggestion could be sent.
To address this, the "I'm interested" button will now bring you to the forum topic, where you'll need to either post a reply, or send the topic starter a private message.
Will we still get that cool alert when someone's interested or will it just show up on our feed?
This hasn't been 100% determined yet. I'm still toying with the best way to implement this. It gets potentially less accurate with the forums, since a conversation with the same person might trigger the "new player is interested" alert over and over again.
What about the "Random game concept" button?
The fate of the random game button is still being decided. It has historically not seen much use, except as a learning tool for people to see how the genre sliders might be used.
What do you think should be done with it?
Comments
With this new development, will this also mean that Find RP writing sections can be bigger? THe current text limit is often crippling when I'm trying to post an idea to the Find RP tool.
Awesome sauce. Thank you for all your hard work on the site. This is becoming my go to site for rp
This sounds awesome!
YES, I can't wait!
I am SO EXCITED for this feature! 8D It's totally going to make finding RPs and partners streamlined, and I can't wait to see it in action! *excited squeak*
sirensong
August 18, 2015
8:45am
This sounds really great! Excited for it to take effect 
OH MAN OH MAN THIS SOUNDS GREAT
@CelestinaGrey - I'm still toying with that. It gets less accurate with the forums, since a conversation with the same person might trigger the "new player is interested" alert over and over again.
Sounds really interesting! I have another question, though. Will we still get that cool alert when someone's interested or will it just show up on our feed?
Ooo, sounds cool.
Oh, I'm going to like this update very much!
Blu_Dino
August 18, 2015
8:05am
This is great!
booksarebae
August 18, 2015
8:05am
Sweet! This sounds awesome!
Kim
August 22, 2015
10:56am